makeshift

Cities can be (and normally are) drawn as objects on a map, surrounded by white space. Cities are where architects work.

They are also, of course, a myth: a fictional condition comprising discrete objects, forms and routines – all of which combine to create a convincing stage-set called ‘human settlement’.

But the illusion of geographical stasis created by the term ‘city’ is an increasingly fragile one. The reality is that either we move around or goods move around on our behalf. That cities ever became advantageous environments to live in was a measure of humankind’s ability to farm surplus food and distribute it to regions of continuous concentrated demand. With the consolidation of the mass consumer market, we have never been more instantaneously dependent upon, or vulnerable to the massive logistical systems which serve cities - primarily by sea, air and road.

Confronted by widening cracks in this illusion, architecture is being forced to change its lens. If, instead of drawing urban masses, we begin to draw a few of the systems upon which UK cities are totally dependent (transport infrastructures, oil pipelines, distribution centres, shipping ports...), what is revealed is an inverted diaspora – a complex web of dependencies.

This project explores the idea that cities instead exist within and depend upon a wider ecosystem. In the UK we have developed an ‘Island Architecture’ for survival, yet we remain dependent on global resources and services. Mainstream society (architects included) is scarcely aware of this service infrastructure supplying lifeblood resources to our cities. We take ‘this stuff’ for granted. But with the challenges posed by the ‘Triple Crunch’ – environmental, financial and peak oil crises – as well as the massive social and economic upheavals within cities caused by globalisation, we can no longer afford to remain oblivious.(1)

Our broadcast aims to starkly reveal the hidden infrastructures which nourish the Open City. In doing so we anticipate that as architects, we will be forced to design processes that enable us to live convivially with the people we rely on. This will involve extending the conventional perception of our cities to include wider flows of human resources as well as manufacturing and agricultural processes. We suggest that truly open cities must begin to look outward, scrutinising the surrounding ‘white space’ on the map and surveying further afield.

Traditionally public service broadcasts were produced to raise awareness of a pertinent issue. They were shown in exhibitions, cinemas and other public venue screenings, as well as following news bulletins on television and radio. Yet increasingly they have been evacuated from these public venues. Online broadcasts and web streaming is now the convention. Even our politicians are turning to You Tube to spread their message.

Studio six feels that the broadcast should return to a public venue, albeit with the inevitable potential of having a supplementary web presence. In doing so, we hope to bring conversations about cities and their support systems into the public domain and to question the very things we take for granted.

1 Our thinking on interdependence stems from working alongside the Interdependence Day project: www.interdependenceday.co.uk

INTERDEPENDENCE UK_OPEN CITY BROADCAST was produced for the

4TH INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE ROTTERDAM - PARALLEL CASES

Narrated by Alex Kirby

University of Sheffield School of Architecture Studio 6

India Aspin

Lukas Barry

Edward Fowler

Richard Holland

Tomas Kangro

Martin Lydon

Alastair Parvin

Patrick Skingley

and

Jordan J. Lloyd

Adam Towle

Executive Producer:

Renata Tyszczuk

OPEN CITY BROADCAST is produced by Studio Six, the University of Sheffield for the Interdependence Day project, © 2009.

For more information on this project, please visit www.interdependenceday.co.uk